S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Lost Alpha

Optional Tasks

These tasks are based on Lost Alpha version 1.4007 Developer's Cut (build 7246) with default setup (at installation), played at Master level, and includes optional tasks unique to the mod (as far as I know). There are some tasks that I had trouble with, characters wouldn't offer, bugs, etc. So, this is very much a work in progress.

Last Revision: July 9, 2019

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Tasks by Actor

Alex

Help the forgotten stalker trader

Alex is a trader at the Construction Site, but is not indicated as a trader on your map. His shop is in a white two-story building about halfway along the south road with two loners guarding the front door. Go in and open the first door on the left and talk to Alex. At first, he warns you about the Merc bar. But eventually, he gets around to giving you the task. As you leave the building and get back to the south road, take a slight right turn and cross the road to go along a dirt drive between some large trees. Go through the gate and into the building on the left. The box of nuts is on the floor along the north wall.

The bandit camp Alex suggested is located in a wooded area northwest of the building with the box of nuts. If you have trouble finding it, go to the bus stop west of where you are, then to the third telephone pole north and turn east. The camp is usually being attacked by civilian Zombies, so you should be able to hear gunfire as you approach. With the area clear, go into the root cellar and grab the box of transistors on the table. When you get back to Alex, he gives you the password to the Merc bar to end the task. The password is needed for the Find the Gauss rifle task. Ask him all the questions you have before you can ask for the next task, which is the Help destroy the fuel cache.

Help destroy the fuel cache

The target is in the southeast area of Darkscape. There's a couple of ways to get there from the Construction Site. Yantar > Great Metal Factory > Forest > Dark Valley, or, Great Metal Factory > Garbage > Dark Valley seem to be the most direct. I prefer the Yantar route simply because you avoid the bandits and going through the construction site of the Great Metal Factory. If you have an Elite Anomaly Detector and a good suit, the Forest isn't too bad (slow and steady wins the race). If you don't have an EAD, there's one in the west room of the house on the hill southwest of the targeted Merc base (for the trip back to Alex).

As you drive south through Darkscape, there's a large crane on the left where the Merc base is. Go past the base to the intersection, turn left, park by the truck, and take out your sniper rifle. Use the trees as cover, but avoid the large storage tanks as they are radiated. There's usually a guard at the back door that you can take out, which alerts the others to your position. Generally, there's six Mercs in the building and three more along the dock, either on the dock or on the beach. When you've cleared the building, climb up the ladder on the east wall near the southeast corner. Pick up the RPG launcher and four rockets are near the center of the roof. Turn east and put your site on the large ship in the distance. You can just make out the barrels on top of the cabin, left of the smoke stacks. You know if you hit them if you get a task update to return to Alex. If you need help with the move point from the Great Metal Factory to Yantar, see Talk with the scientist in Yantar for instructions. Alex gives you 6000 RUz to end the task.

Deedee

Find a box of condensors(sic)

This task is only available after completing the Find the scientists task. However, you can pick the condensers up during the task and save yourself a trip back to the waterdam. Ask Deedee for a job to get this task. The condensers are located in a wooden box near the northeast corner of the room where you pass through to get to the stairs going to the blocked entrance, i.e., where the Controller was. Take the condensers back to Deedee, tell him you're here for the job, and he gives you 1500 RUz. The only other jobs Deedee offers is to find a Snork's foot (which you should have from the Find the scientists task) and find a Moonlight artifact.

Dima

Help Duty reclaim their HQ

You get this task as you enter Rostok, and navigating the streets of Rostok is a bit tricky with the anomalies, blocked railroad crossings, etc. As you enter the town, follow the road past the truck and anomaly. As the road begins to bend to the right toward another railroad crossing, turn left to go over a small mound, staying clear of the anomaly that's there, and continue west along the wall until you get to pavement again. Once you are back on the road, turn right (north) and continue to the end of the street. Dima is to the left, but parking the car near his position can cause issues with the Dutyers walking around. So, park off the road in front of the red brick building ruins and go talk to Dima, who gives you a gas mask.

After talking with Dima, arm yourself for bloodsucker battle, go back down (south) the street you just came from and make a jog to the left to get to the gate of the factory complex. The gate is just open enough to get the car through, but for now, it's best to park outside. You can drive through, but at the end of the upcoming cut-scene the camera changes to third-person. As you enter the gate, a cut-scene plays with you finding the first corpse (this is another spot where the cut-scene may not play correctly and you have to sprint through the gate). When it ends, you battle the first of four bloodsuckers. Put it down and go south, turn right at the intersection and left where the wall ends to go into the unfinished building. The first floor is divided in half with a set of stairs in the southeast corner of the north half. Go up to the second floor, to the stairs in either corner of the west side of the building and up to the third floor. Facing north, there is a long partition with a burning barrel on the right (east). The next corpse is on the other side of the long partition and when you pick up the PDA, the next bloodsucker spawns on the west side of the partition. When it's down, go to the stairs in the center of the east side and go up to the forth floor. The third corpse is in the northeast corner and, again, when you pick up the PDA another bloodsucker spawns.

Now leave the building the way you came in, turn left (west), another left at the intersection, and right to go through the passageway with the burning barrel. Left at the intersection and you should be facing south with the gas-filled building in front of you. This is a good place to save because the gas mask Dima gave you only lasts for three minutes and it might take a few tries to get this next bit. Check your inventory to be sure you're wearing the gas mask, go into the building and turn left to go up the stairs. Stay along the left wall as you move west to get to the last corpse, which is in the southwest corner of a lobby area. Take his PDA and continue west where the last bloodsucker is waiting. Put it down quickly before it runs off or you'll waste a lot of time tracking it down. Use the stairs on the north wall to go up two more levels to the roof. Turn left after the doorway and drop down into the hole, but be sure to only drop one level. Go to the safe in the northwest corner and put in the combination from the PDA you just picked up. Take the contents and leave the room through the door in the center of the south wall that is now open. Turn right, down the stairs to the first floor and north out the front door. Report back to Dima and he gives you the Access the lab and kill the bloodsuckers task.

Access the lab and kill the bloodsuckers

This task takes place in the X-14 lab and is simultaneously completed with the Find the documents for Sin task. Starting from Dima's location at the north end of the town, go back to the passageway with the buring barrel and turn right this time. Go north to the end of the fence on the left, u-turn left to follow the road around and turn right (north) at the intersection to face a closed metal gate. Approach the gate and press action to open it, then continue north to move into the lab.

The boxes that block the doorway are empty, so you can break them down or just push them out of the way. In fact, I think all of the boxes in this lab are empty. Several rats come to greet you, so once you take care of them, turn left (east) and battle with the bloodsucker in the room on the right. You can go west to explore if you want, but you'll only find some civilian Zombies. Back to the hallway and east again to the end, turn right and find another bloodsucker in the room on the left. Continue south, then right turn west to the second room on the left with the first dead scientist. His PDA gives you a door code, which is listed in your PDA's Log and Message history. Go to the end of the hallway and turn right to find another dead scientist on the left, and then to the end of the hallway where there's a security door. Enter the code you got from the first scientist, 4-5-2-6, and open the door to find another bloodsucker. Continue to the intersection and turn right (east) to the next security door, where you must enter the same code. Open the door to find a stack of boxes in the way. As you step through the doorway, a brief cut-scene plays. Now continue east through the doorway to find another bloodsucker. North of the doorway and against the wall is a desk with the Scientist PDA and a red-covered Document required for the Find the documents for Sin task.

Exit the room through the doorway on the east to another security door that doesn't require a code. Open the door to find and kill the final bloodsucker to complete the task. Now backtrack west through the room with the desk and to the end of the hallway, turn left and go to the end three times. The forth left turn comes just before the doorway blocked by a cave-in, then into the room on the right to move out of the lab. Dima is, by now, on the top floor of the unfinished building where you killed the second and third bloodsucker. However, he doesn't offer any more tasks.

Griboyedov

One advantage to working for Griboyedov is that he pays you up front.

A petty thief

You meet Griboyedov in the North Hills during the Find the underground tunnels at the waterdam task. If you ask him for a job, he tells you of a Karlik that he'd like to be rid of and return a gun the Karlik has. When you meet Griboyedov, you are most likely walking. However, the jeep at the west end of the base is in working order(even though parts fall of when you get in). You can take a direct route, or follow the road to the dirt turn-off. Just be aware that the jeep is very top-heavy and rolls easily. When you get to the church, the Karlik is in the building next to it. Put a couple of rounds in its head, loot the house, and grab the Registered Fort-12 in the southwest corner of the southwest room. When you return to Griboyedov, tell him, "Hey Commander!" and "It's done...", give him the gun and he gives you 4500 RUz. You may have to close out the dialog and open it again to ask Griboyedov about the next job, Cleaning. You also get a Vepr-12 Molot shotgun and some ammo to go with it.

Cleaning - Fleshes

Griboyedov's version of cleaning takes place just south of the base, and there are a few more Fleshes this time. When you finish them off, Griboyedov radios that there are more to the west (actually, northwest). There's seven or eight Fleshes in each herd, but sometimes a herd of Boar will decide to join in. When you report back to Griboyedov, tell him, "I did it." and he gives you 7000 RUz. The next job is another cleaning, this time psy dogs.

Cleaning - Psy Dogs

For this task you get a Berill-1 suit, slug ammo, and some RGD-5 grenades. The location is near the entrance to the underground tunnels that Hermit tells you about, so this task can be performed at the same time as the Find another way into the underground task. The grenades are nice, but I prefer and RPG or two. There's a pile of boulders to the west of the underground entrance that Hermit gives you. Climb as high as you can and get to the western-most boulder (high enough that the dogs can't get you. You should be able to see them circling around on the other side of the large tree. Concentrate your fire there and when you get an on-screen message to report on your progress, you know you've got them all. Report back for a reward of 9500 RUz. The next job is the Cleaning - Chimeras task, along with an F1 grenade and more buckshot to go with it.

Cleaning - Chimeras

You get an update at 22:00 for this task, but I have yet to be in the tunnel at that time. There are usually bandits in the tunnel, as well as two or three Chimeras. Killing a specific Chimera gets a task update, but there's no telling which one if there is two or more. Also, if you kill one and get a task update, be sure to clear the tunnel of any other Chimeras and/or bandits. Report back to Griboyedov to complete the task and receive a Berill-M5 suit. The next cleaning job is a Controller.

Cleaning - Controller

For this task, Griboyedov gives you more buckshot and another F1 grenade. The location is southwest of where the bus and fuel truck are parked on the road. Park the car on the northeast side of the hill near the target location and leave the door open and the motor running. Don't engage with the mutants unless you have to. Now go up to the top of the hill and locate the Controller on the other side, usually near the trees at the bottom of the hill. Once you see it, start tossing grenades (usually two well-placed grenades is all you need). Once the Controller is down, sprint to the car because every mutant in the Zone is coming for you.

When you go back to report, Griboyedov suddenly interrupts the conversation and puts sounds an alarm. The troops then gather in the road and form a defensive position facing west. There's a PKM Machine Gun on a tripod marked on your minimap with a green circle-X for you to help fight off the swarms of mutants that come so you don't use up all your ammo. The problem is the guys behind you don't seem to care that you're helping them out and tend to shoot you in the back. So, try to keep the left side of the road clear to avoid friendly fire. Also, the PKM heats up quickly (note the indicator above your stamina gauge), so short bursts are recommended. There are three waves that you are tasked with holding off and a save is definitely recommended after each, with quick saves during a slight lull.

NOTE: For some reason, you cannot activate night-vision while on the PKM. Also, each time you load a save you must press action to use it (again).

The first wave is the more common mutants, Flesh, Boars, Snorks, etc. The second wave has more of the same with a naked burer added (that goes down with just a few rounds from the PRM). In the last wave, a Controller takes it's place. So, ditch the PRM, put the building in front (west) of you between you and the Controller, and start tossing grenades. When it's all over, feel free to help yourself to mutant parts and military gear. Griboyedov retreats to his normal position on the east side of the checkpoint. Ask him, "What on Earth was that?" and, after some dialog, he gives you 11,500 RUz and some 9x39 mm ammo. Ask him about another job and he says he has none.

Hunter

Find the stolen rifle and return it to Hunter

You gain this task by talking to Hunter in the Rads Bar at the Great Metal Factory location. The Wild Territory section of the Great Metal Factory is inundated with mutants and Bandits. I haven't found a way of sneaking in and out, so pack lots of ammo. Starting from the bar, or rather, the northern gate, go west to the end of the elevated pipes on the right. There's a pack of blind dogs and Pseudodogs ahead and you need a safe place to pick them off from. You're going to pick up some radiation, so keep moving. Sprint to the cement slabs that lay vertically and jump on top, then to the awning northeast of the slabs. Once you are on the awning, you can take some antirad if necessary. Next to the trailer roof and you can pick them off in safety from there.

NOTE: If you have a car, another option is to use it to step up on the horizontal stacks of cement slabs east of vertical slabs. The Pseudodogs can jump that high, but there's no radiation to deal with.

Next, there's a Controller at the west end of the road, probably fighting with some other mutants. Go through the open gate and stop at the blue truck on the left. You should be able to shoot the red barrels and hopefully take out some mutants. The Controller can't get you from where you are, so keep firing until it's down. If the Controller moves behind the trailer, you can use the trailer as cover, but be aware that you're not safe from the Snorks. There are still some mutants around, so keep your guard up as you make your way south, into the first building on the left (past the garages) and up the stairs to the catwalk. Go to the south end where it's broken off and wait for the Snorks. While you battle the Snorks the Bandits move in, so use the pillars as cover. When you're sure the Snorks are gone, go back down the steps and snipe the Bandits out the windows and over the storage tanks below the catwalk.

You should be able to go from this point back to the bar in relative safety with those mutants out of the way. There are two groups of bandits, however. One group is on the west side and the other group is south of the construction site. This second group has Hunter's gun. There are five bandits in this group, and at least one is guarding the open area east of their camp. If you have a good sniper rifle, you can pick one or two off from the construction site. Another spot is to stand on the hand rail of the catwalk southwest of the construction site. But you are exposed to any fire coming from the east. The BM16 Rifle, a.k.a. shotgun, is on the sofa in the northeast corner of the camp. Take the gun back to the bar and give it to Hunter to complete the task and he gives you 2000 RUz.

Kruglov

Find something of the dead composer

When you return to Yantar with the Crystal artifact to complete the Return the artefact(sic) to Sakharov task, Sakhorov tells you to talk to Kruglov while you wait for him to fix your PDA. Ask Kruglov if he has any special tasks and he asks you to retreave some sheet music from the Forest. From Yantar, the shortest way to the Forest is through the Great Metal Factory. When you leave the mobile lab compound (assuming you're driving), go south of the pipe that comes out of the ground and turn east, pass the tug boat on the south side and stay close to the wall of the other compound to avoid anomalies. Past the green trailer and turn east toward the enclosure near the move point. Drive into the opening on the west side and turn left as you start up the ramp to come off the ramp and proceed to the move point.

When you spawn at the factory, continue east past the train cars and turn southeast to power your way over the tracks. You've probably been this way already, but just to be thorough, when you get back on hard surface, turn east, around the trailer and through the gate. When you get to the end of the chain-link fence on the right, turn southeast to go south of the dumpster and through the bushes to get around the construction materials that block the road. When you emerge from the bushes, you are probably on the right side of a boulevard. Go east to the end, follow it around to continue east and turn right at the intersection. Go to the end of the street and turn left. As you pass the bus, the road jogs to the left and there's an anomaly on the right, so stay against the left curb. At the end of the street, turn right, pass the dump truck, and turn left to the move point.

In the Forest, turn right at the first intersection and stop at the bus stop on the right. There are a few civilian Zombies, so a pistol is all you need. You can either drive or walk (it's not far) northeast to the village and to the house at the northeast end. Inside, go to the northeast room where there's a piano in the southeast corner. The sheet music is on the floor in front of the piano. Now back to Yantar by way of the Great Metal Factory. If you haven't used the move point from the factory to Yantar, see my instructions under Talk with the scientist in Yantar. Talk to Kruglov about the composer's house to complete the task.

Milo

NOTE: As far as I know, Milo is the only trader that sleeps. He goes to bed at 22:00 and gets up at 06:00.

Find the Gauss rifle

To get this task, you must first complete the Help the forgotten stalker trader task that gets you the password into the Merc complex. Milo is located in the quonset hut at the south end of the Construction Site Merc base. Ask him for a job and he gives you this task, which sends you back to the Merc base in Darkscape. You can perform this task along with Alex's Help destroy the fuel cache. Otherwise, approach the barge from the north to avoid contact with the Mercs. Either way, go in the door on the west side near the stern, left through the doorway and up the stairs, turn left again and follow the deck around to the stern. Turn and face the bow to see a doorway to the cabin at the bottom of another set of stairs. Inside, to the left, are some shelves with the Gauss. Pick it up to get a task update and return to the Construction Site, where Milo gives you 15,000 RUz to complete the task. Ask him for another job and he gives you the Find the Gauss box task.

Find the Gauss box

The box is located in the Monolith base in Radar and I suggest you wait until you've completed the Nomad's belongings task. Getting to the base is pretty straight forward, with some cross-country driving in Yantar. From the Merc base, go to Yantar and turn right. Follow the road, turning left at the intersection, until you get to the high-tension wire tower near the end, but don't pass it. Turn right and go over the pipe so you end up between it and the fence. Continue north and stay to the right along the bluff, following it around to the move point to the Dead City. Continue north to the Radar move point.

Depending on where you are in the game, there may be Monolith guards at the spawn point in Radar. Quickly drive up to the bus at the next intersection and use it for cover to take them out. You may also have some come in from the west. If the Lada is still there, you can use it to save some of your petrol. Follow the road north to the left curve and, unless you've already completed the Nomad's belongings task, you're going to have some more Monolith to deal with. Otherwise, just continue on into the base.

Go through the gate that is north of the road you came in on and pull up to the building on the left. Go in the front door and turn left. The box is on the floor in the second room on the left. Take it back to Milo and he gives you 16,000 RUz to complete the task.

Nimble

You must complete the Locate the contact task to unlock these tasks. Nimble offers two types of task, Find the item and Special order. Find the item tasks are gained by asking, "I need a job. Do you have something for me?" and Special order tasks come when you ask something like, "What's next" (the question you ask Nimble changes for these as you progress). When working for Nimble, it's always good to check his location when returning with a requested item. Generally, he stays in one of two houses within the Rookie Village. First sleeping on the north side, east of the root cellar where you met Wolf. Then, he moves to the southwest house. However, I've found him near the tunnel under the road where he exits after being freed from the underground.

NOTE: I've had games where some of these tasks came in different sequence. So, the progression of tasks offered may differ from what I have here.

Find the item

Find the double-mail jacket

You usually can get this jacket off a bandit during the Find the second contact task. If you sold it, you have to wait until you can get to Darkscape later in the game. In Darkscape, a second Mail Jacket is stashed in a cargo truck that sets on a dirt road south of the railroad bridge. Nimble gives you 3600 RUz to complete the task and you can ask him for a job (again) and he gives you a choice between Find the anomaly jacket and Find the improved MP5 (recommended).

Find the improved MP5

This is a simple matter of going north up the road to the bus that's just south of the move point to the Garbage. On the ground, just below the front door, is the HK MP5A3. You may need to low-crouch to see it. Grab it and take it back to Nimble, who gives you 4200 RUz for the MP5. At this point, you can ask Nimble "What's next?" and he gives you the Find the revolver task, which you can do during the Find the bandits' documents task of the storyline. You can also ask him, "I need a job. Do you have something for me?" and, if you haven't completed it already, he gives you the Find the anomaly jacket, which is in the Garbage near the hanger. If you have completed both tasks, Nimble offers a choice between Find the improved L85 and Find Mercenaries' improved outfit (recommended).

Find the anomaly jacket

This is the third in a series of optional tasks given by Nimble and you must complete the first two in order to unlock this task. The location of the item is inside a fenced-in area where a stalker met his end in an anomaly. You have to find a way into the area and get his jacket without falling to the same anomaly. On the east side of the road across from the hanger where you met Seriy, is the Lost Alpha version of the Vehicle Graveyard. And in the southeast corner is a smaller fenced-in area where the jacket is waiting.

Go to the south side of the area where the fence ends and walk straight north until you are under the tail of the helicopter. Then walk directly to the corpse until you can search it and get the jacket. If you get burned by the anomaly, try going a little further north before turning towards the corpse. Take the jacket back to Nimble and he pays you a Jellyfish artifact, a medkit, and 3000 RUz to complete the task. Ask him for another job and, if you haven't completed it already, he gives you the Find the improved MP5 task. If you have completed both tasks, Nimble offers the choice of Find the improved L85 and Find Mercenaries' improved outfit (recommended).

Find Mercenaries' improved outfit

You must complete the Find the anomaly jacket task in order to unlock this task. This item can be found in the Dead City on a dead merc during the Get the scientists package task, as well as in Dark Valley.

Dark Valley - The item is located in a hollow south of the Monolith base inside an anomaly-filled green trailer. Start from the southwest side facing the door. You can't sprint when you're close to the trailer because of the anomalies. Open the door and stay along the right wall to the back (northeast) end of the trailer. Pick up everything and get out the same way. Tell Nimble you are here for the job and he pays you 6500 RUz for the suit. Now tell him you need a job and, if you haven't completed the Find the improved L85 task yet, that what he gives you. If you have completed it, he gives you the option of Find improved LR-300 or Find the "Sunrise-5" outfit tasks. The LR-300 task is bugged and I haven't found the Sunrise-5 suit yet.

Find the improved L85

You must complete the Find the anomaly jacket task in order to unlock this task. One or more Balanced L85A1s can be found in the Dead City on dead Mercs during the Get the scientists package task, as well as one in the Rostok Factory complex that's part of the optional Find the documents for Sin task. I've looted up to three so far in Dead City, but Nimble only wants one, so I sold the rest to Sid. And, yes, if you complete the mission before going to Rostok, that L85 is still there.

In Rostok, east of where you found the first body, look at the map to find two large buildings in the northeast corner of the factory complex, which are connected by a wide sky-walk (forming the letter Z on the minimap). Go east under the sky-walk, turn slightly right (east-southeast) and find the netting canopy in the southeast corner of the area. The L85 is laying on top of a dark-green trunk.

Now go west until you can turn south, following the drive until you pass through a building and turn left (east). You get a warning from the military as you approach the move point, but just stay on the road and they leave you alone. You can't drive the car past the stop sign, so leave it there and walk to the Cordon move point. When you spawn in Cordon, continue up the road to the Rookie Village. Again, stay on the road and the military will leave you alone. When you get to Nimble, tell him you're here for the job and he gives you 6400 RUz. Now tell him you need a job and, if you haven't completed the Find Mercenaries' improved outfit task yet, that what he gives you. If you have completed it, he gives you either the Find improved LR-300.

Find improved LR-300

The only LR-300 that Nimble will accept is owned by a stalker named Raven who apparently spawns when you complete the X-14 task. I traded notes with one player who claimed to see Raven in the south of Cordon near the move point to Rostok, but he then traveled north. Personally, the only time I've seen Raven is in the building next to the first railroad crossing coming from Agroprom. Once, Raven wasn't there so I went looking for him and found him on the Rostok side of the Cordon move point, shooting it out with the military. He killed them all, then headed north to the building near the Agroprom move point. The first time I killed him while he (and his friends) were in the building, I was not welcome in the Rookie Village. However, this time I finished him off and turned the gun over to Nimble.

When you get back to Nimble, tell him you're here for the job and he gives you 8500 RUz. Now tell him you need a job and he offers you the Find Duty hunter PS5 suit task.

Find Duty hunter PS5 suit

This suit is located in the small brick building near the spawn point when moving from Yantar to the Swamps and you can pick it up during the Meet Doc task even before Nimble gives you this task. You can pick the suit up without triggering the cut-scene. You may also choose to wait until you return from meeting Doc. I generally return this along with the experimental ecolog suit. Nimble gives you 14,000 RUz and a Medkit as payment. As him for a job and he offers the Find the 'Beril-5' outfit. task.

Find the 'Beril-5' outfit.

The item is located in the North Hills and can be collected during the Find the underground tunnels at the waterdam task. The suit is in the cement-lined canal that runs south from the waterdam. The hardest part is avoiding the anomalies, but it's just a matter of walking down the ramp and picking it up on the northwest corner of the cement platform. Take it back to to Nimble by way of Radar, Military Warehouses, Great Metal Factory, Garbage, Cordon. Or, wait for a more opportune time. He gives you 6000 RUz to complete the task. If you haven't done it yet, Nimble might offer you the Find improved "TRs 301" task.

Special order

Find the Groza

When Nimble finds his place in the northeast house of the Rookie Village, you can ask him about his business plan to get this task. The item is located at the Agroprom Research Institute and can be completed without firing a shot during the Find the militaries' documents task. However, you can complete both these tasks along with the Find the documents (Agroprom) task. Either way, take the gun back the Rookie Village and give it to Nimble, even though he can't pay you, to complete the task. Nimble then asks, "So what about the next task?" If you select "I don't mind working some more. What's next?" he gives you the Find the improved MP5 task. Also, Nimble says he knows a place to hide the Groza and asks if you want to go with him. If you say, "Yes..." he just goes out the front door, stops, and stands there looking at you for a while. Then he goes back to the underground using the entrance under the road where he came out. Then, down the steps into a room with boxes and crates where he hides the gun. Again, he turns and just looks at you.

Find the revolver

See Find the improved MP5 to unlock these tasks. Ask Nimble, "What's next?" and he gives you this task. The best window of opportunity you have to complete this task is during the Find the bandits' documents task of the storyline as it involves gaining access to Borov's safe. However, once you Free the Dutyer from prison you are no longer welcome at the Bandit's base and will need to fight your way in and out.

When you return to Nimble with the revolver, he says he got tired of waiting and won't pay you. If you keep the gun, you end your working relationship with Nimble and he does not give you any more tasks. Even if you have an item from the "I need a job" tasks, he won't take it. If you give the gun to Nimble and trust him for payment, he gives you the Find the experimental ecolog suit task. When you return with the suit, Nimble pays you 15,000 RUz for the revolver.

Find the experimental ecolog suit

NOTE: This seems to be the last task you can complete for Nimble. Once you give him the suit and leave the Rookie Village, any I need a job task you may have on your PDA fails. You can get the suit and continue with I need a job tasks, just don't give Nimble the suit until you've completed the last one.

After completing the Get wire for the scientist task, ask Sakharov if he knows anyting about suite designed before the first blowout and he gives you the approximate location in the underground. You can save yourself some running back and forth if you also inquire about the Find the documents (Yantar) task and do them together.

For this task you will have to fight those bloodsuckers you were able to avoid with the scent blocker used during the Get wire for the scientist task. I recommend grenades and a shotgun with darts and/or slugs. When you get to the room where you retreaved the wire (I'll call it Room 1), arm yourself with a grenade and go through the door on the east wall into the room where the bloodsuckers are (Room 2), toss the grenade and get back to Room 1. Bloodsuckers will come up to the door, but not into Room 1 and you can use grenades to take out a few before they retreat. Keep baiting them like before, to chase you back to Room 1 where you can kill them safely, eight in all.

Now go back into Room 2, over the rubble, and continue through the passageway into a large room. Go straight for the brain and the next thing you know, you're back in the room where the wire was. Head back to Sakharov, tell him you urgently need his help, and he gives you a PSI-1 Brain wave scanner and Psi-blocker, and the Brain vat task, which sends you back to the brain to take some measurements so he can configure the Psi-blocker helm.

Brain vat

Replace your current artifact scanner with the Brain wave scanner and arm yourself to deal with psi effects (vodka works) and four Controllers. If you picked up an RPG along the way, this is the time for it. At the very least, dart and/or slug ammo are effective, along with a .44 loaded with incendiary rounds for point-blank shots. The idea of the Brain vat task is to take measurement readings for 2:17. The problem is, three to four Controllers spawn as you take the readings. So, what you have to do is to start taking the readings to trigger the Controllers, then deal with them so you can finish with the readings. Note that each time you stop with the scanner, even to aim your pistol, the timer starts over. When you get to Room 1 you start to see the effects of a Controllers and there may be one waiting in Room 2. Keep an eye on the far-left meter of your inventory. If it gets too low, you die. Take a vodka if the meter gets near half or the psi indicator (looks like a brain) on the right side of your HUD turns red.

Take a position in the Brain vat room with your back to the brain and facing the doorway back into Room 2 (south). DO NOT go north of the brain as it means instant death. Keep in mind that there is another doorway on your left that may produce a Controller. When you're ready for the Controllers, take out the scanner and a pistol to shoot the holograms and keep the psi effects to a minimum. When the first Controller shows, hit it with your biggest bang. If you happen to have an RPG, you might get two for one. Watch both doors for the remaining Controller(s). When they're all down, take the scanner out again and finish the measurements. You can do this from anywhere inside the metal frame, just don't go north of the brain inside the cage area until Sakhorov adjusts the psi-blocker helm. When the measurement counter winds down, you are again transported to Room 1. Go back to Sakhorov and tell him you're done taking the measurements. He adjust the helm and the task is complete, returning you to the Find the experimental ecolog suit task.

The suit is located in behind (north) of the brain vat in the underground. With Sakharov's adjustments, you can walk in, pick it up, and leave as you please. Nimble can now pay you for the revolver, but not for the suit. Give him the suit to complete the task. When you ask him "What's next?", he says he needs to sort things out first, gives you a door key for a bunker under Lake Yantar, and disappears as soon as you leave the Rookie Village. The key opens the door behind the Brain Vat, where a staircase takes you to the control room. On the floor next to the control panel is a SSP-10 suit.

Oleg Rugov

Help the unlucky stalker

Oleg asks for your help as you exit the gate of the mobile lab complex in Yantar on your way to Get wire for the scientist. You can also accomplish the initial part of the Find the experimental ecolog suit task during this one, if you have it. Oleg is hold up at the north end of a tunnel running under the Motor Pool, which is just south of the mobile lab. Talk to Oleg and, if you agree to the task, he gives you a vile of Pheromones to keep the bloodsuckers from attacking while you retrieve is beloved Groza. Only, he's not sure if it works. Continue with the Get wire for the scientist task until you pick the wire up.

NOTE: There is a chance of Oleg falling victim to a Zombie or mutant. If so, the task is canceled immediately and there's no Pheromones on his corpse. Also, the Groza probably is in too poor of condition to bother with.

Now put the Pheromones on, go through the door on the east wall and follow the passage into a room with rubble in the middle and sleeping bloodsuckers on the other side. There's a slab of concrete that makes a ramp over the rubble and the Groza is on the floor to the left. Alternatively, go to the north wall and jump up on the desk to get to the east side of the room. Pick the Groza up and jump up to the desk to go back over the rubble and out the the large room where you picked up the wire. I always close the door, but I don't know that it matters. If you take either of the Find the experimental ecolog suit or Find the documents (Yantar) tasks, you'll be coming back here and it may help if the room is clear of bloodsuckers. Take the Groza back to Oleg to get a Tourist's suit as your reward. Oleg then runs off, leaving the tunnel clear for you to drive through, if the situation warrants (once you break the boxes down at the south end).

NOTE: If Oleg doesn't show up on your map and the task isn't listed on your PDA, the guy may have been killed by mutants and you have to go progressively go back to previous saves until he's sitting in the tunnel. Also, he runs off to the east during a psi storm and takes a few minutes to come back.

Petrenko

Find X18 secret documents

You aquire this task as you enter Lab X18 in the Dark Valley as part of the Get file about experiments task. Petrenko radios you with the task, but Barkeep shows on your PDA. See the Lab X18 walkthrough to complete this task.

Find the documents (Yantar)/The expedition

This is the third in a series of optional "Documents" tasks and you must complete the preceding Find the documents (Forest) task in order to unlock this task. During this task you will encounter Boars, armed and civilian Zombies, blind dogs, four Burers, and possibly one or two Snorks. If you are working for Nimble, talk to Sakhorov about the Find the experimental ecolog suit task and save yourself some running back and forth.

Petrenko's instructions are to talk to Sakhorov first. See Talk with the scientist in Yantar for help getting to the mobile lab in Yantar. Talk to Sakhorov and select, "Professor, I'm looking for something here." to get the conversation going toward the documents. He gives you The expedition task, which is to help a team take some readings and collect any electronics you happen to find, and refers you to Professor Pirozhenko, who is probably next to the dump truck south of the door of the mobile lab. Pirozhenko sends you to fetch his assistant, Professor Kuleshov, who is in Kruglov's quonset hut, and a stalker, who is waiting behind the mobile lab. Once the three of you join Pirozhenko, talk to the professor again to get them moving. The group goes east on the north side of the pipeline. When you get near the walled complex with the high radio tower, you're attacked by Boars. So, once you cross the creek and get to the top of the far bank, sprint ahead and engage the Boars before the others get there.

NOTE: If Pirozhenko gets killed, the task fails. Also, if a blowout occurs during the task, the team runs back to the mobile lab faster than you can hope to keep up and it's best to find the nearest shelter. Eventually, the team returns to which ever spot they were when the warning sounded.

The group stops to view a building to the northeast that is partially dug into the ground and full of anomalies and sleeping Zombies. If you talk to Pirozhenko, he tells you to talk to Kuleshov, and then you can continue. Kuleshov and the stalker stand in the doorway while Pirozhenko sits on the mound nearby. Talk to Pirozhenko, who tells you there's something on the shelf (or you can just go get the stuff, but you'll have to go through the coversation either way). Go around to the only window on the east wall of the building and crouch to get in. Stay along the east wall and move north to the shelves. Jump up on the green box and collect the Army First Aid Kit, Old device, and the Experiment journal, which is on the bottom shelf leaning against the wall (you may need to lean left to see it). This wakes the sleeping Zombies, but between the anomalies and the other two guys, you shouldn't have much trouble with them. Go back south along the wall and jump from the step that's in front of any window on the south wall to get out. Although you may want to pick up the USP Compact and .45 ammo in the boxes setting in the southwest corner.

By the time you get out, the others are down the hill, north of the building. Ask Pirozhenko what's next and you head southwest to the complex on another hill. Near the gate of the complex are more civilian Zombies, along with the possibility of Snorks and dogs. When they get to the door of the hangar, talk to either scientist - Kuleshov orders you to investigate the hanger and Pirozhenko orders you to investigate the house. When you finish one, go talk to the other. The house is empty, but the hanger has documents and old devices. Walk inside along the south wall to find the Report on a fuel tank from a truck. Continue east along the south wall and get the Old device off the bottom shelf of the lathe. There's an SPL Revolver and ammo in the back of the truck, the dead scientist is holding Papers, and there's another Old device on the workbench next to him. You can talk to the other stalker about the dead scientist, but this is optional.

When you report to Pirozhenko, he tells you the next stop is the military complex. There's a break in the north wall near the collapsed bridge that the team uses to get to the front gate of the barracks. When you get to the front gate of the barracks, Pirozhenko stops. Talk to him to find that he's changed the plan and you have to go in alone. Go through the gate and to the southwest corner of the building. Step through the open window, through the doorway on the left, and take the stairs along the south wall up to the next floor. First, go to the northwest corner of the room and grab the white Document case off the shelf. Then, go into the elevator shaft in the center of the east wall, use the Boards to get to either ledge, and make your way to the ladder going down.

NOTE: If you happen to be in the underground during psi storm, you can use this elevator shaft to wait out the storm. Just don't leave the shaft or you may get shot.

Follow the passage and down the stairs where you encounter some civilian Zombies. Go east down a long passageway, open the door, and enter the storage room where, if you have already completed the Get wire for the scientist task, the spool of wire was. On the same shelf is the Calculations document. There's an Old device on the shelf with the blue stash box. When you pick it up you get a task update to find the big hall (this is where you can detour to the first part of the Find the experimental ecolog suit task, which brings you back to this location and pick up here again to find the big hall). Use the south doorway and follow the passageway to an intersection with a light on the left wall. Turn right and follow this passageway to another intersection with a light on the left wall. Turn right and follow this passageway to a room with sleeping Zombies. Entering the room wakes them up, so quickly back up and throw a grenade. You should get most of them with just one grenade and can finish any survivors as they come at you in the passageway. Just keep backing up and shooting at their heads.

Return to the room and pick up the Order No. 316 document and Old device off the desk. This triggers another update to return to the base. It also spawns anywhere from one to four Burers. Go down the west passageway and stay against the right wall so you can use the supports to hide from the burer's blast. If you encounter any Burers, your best option is to sprint to the loading dock where there is plenty of cover. However, I've had instances where three of them are in the passageway leading to the ladder out at the south end. This is ideal as you can use the steps to stay out of the blasts and grenades are more effective. A fourth burer may be at the top of the hill to the east of the pit where you exit. Again, staying in the pit helps to avoid the blasts. Just don't step into a burner anomaly. When the way is clear, talk to Pirozhenko in the portable workshop behind the mobile lab to complete The expedition task and collect 11,500 RUz.

You now have six of the nine documents needed to complete the task. From the mobile lab complex, go east toward the move point that you came in from the bar, stopping at the road running north and south. At the north end of the road is the Motor Pool garage with four bandits. In the northeast corner of the garage are the Transport invoices. South of the walled-in building is a small green building with an office on the south side. Take the Letter from the desk and you may want the snowflake artifact in the metal box behind door. Go back to the mobile lab and talk to Pirozhenko to complete The expedition task. Then go to Sakhorov and talk to him "About the job..." He takes the Old devices from you, gives you the final document, Sakharov's documents, and 22,500 RUz for the Old devices. Take the documents to Petrenko to complete the task and he gives you a VSS Vintorez BC and ammo, a Fort-15A, PSZ-9d Duty Armor, and 15,000 RUz.

NOTE: You must complete The expedition task before Sakhorov will give you the last document.

Proverb

Cleaning

This task is to purge mutants from two locations. With the exception of Sidorovich's standard optional tasks (bring me an artifact, mutant part, etc.), this is the first optional task available. Proverb stands at the door of Sidorovich's bunker and starts the conversation by asking you if you want to help him with a task. If you agree, he gives you a TOZ-66 sawn-off shotgun with some ammo.

Follow Proverb and use your knife, if you can, to save ammo for the optional Locate the contact task. He goes east of the village to kill Fleshes, then northeast of the village to kill some Boars. For some reason, the Boars eventually run to a tree and line up so you can walk behind them with your knife and finish the job. Talk to Proverb after each cleaning. Completing the task earns you an X-ray PDA Skills Module for your PDA. Open your inventory and double-click it to activate the module.

Sakhorov

Brain vat

Brain vat is part of the Find the experimental ecolog suit task. See Brain vat.

Seriy

An old friend

NOTE: There's a bug with this task that causes the driver's door of your car to malfunction, preventing you from entering the car from that side. Also, the door doesn't stay closed very well. This can be very annoying as the game proceeds and you may want to take the time to go back to Darkscape, get another vehicle just to perform this task, then go back and get your ride of choice.

You must first complete the Get control of the hanger task to unlock this task. Talk to Seriy and ask him why he seems so down. He asks you to help him find his friend, gives you the coordinates to the Forest, and leaves to look in Military Warehouses (eventually to return to the hanger). You may not be able to get to the Forest right away, but when you can, Paulie the Stew is in the northeast house of a village east of the Bandit Mine. Talk to him and he leads you through the Forest, stopping when he sees a herd of Fleshes on the hillside to the northwest. Paulie doesn't move until you kill the last Flesh.

Eventually, he gets to another village east of the move point to the bar and tells you to stay while he gets to his stash. Wait until you get an update to leave the Forest and then go talk to Paulie to start the next leg of the journey. This time, just before you reach the Duty outpost, he decides to attack a herd of Boar. If the Boars kill him, the task is failed. The only way I've found to keep Paulie alive is to sprint ahead when he stops on the road to use his binoculars. An RPG works good for the first shot, but any surviving Boars scatter and you still have to finish them off before they get to Paulie.

Paulie stops when he gets to the Duty outpost and says he can't go on without a rest. Then he gives you an artifact and stays near the gate for the remainder of the game. Continue to the move point to the bar, then turn left and go to the Garbage. You'll find Seriy in a garage on the far side of the hangar. When you talk to him to complete the task, he gives you a Battery artifact, Pellicle artifact, and 3000 RUz.

Sidorovich

Sidorovich offers the same side jobs as the vanilla SOC, e.g., Jellyfish artifact or tail of a Pseudodog, and my advice is to obtain the item before taking the task. Otherwise, chances are that time will run out before you can obtain the item. The follow are tasks exclusive to Lost Alpha:

Work for the Trader

During the Save Fox task when you talk to Fox you get a message from Sidorovich about a special task. When you talk to Sidorovich, ask him, "You said something about a special task?" and at the end of the conversation he gives you the Steal the box from the army outpost task. It doesn't get dark enough to accomplish this task until after 23:00, even though you get a task update at 22:30. If you haven't purchased it yet, buy some night vision gear from Sidorovich to make this much easier, even if it's 1st generation. At some point in the game, you'll have the opportunity to buy a "Screen" helmet with 2nd generation night vision. Worth keeping an eye out for.

You don't need any weapons for this task. Starting on the east side of the road across from the Rookie Village, follow the fence line south until you are directly east of the target. Don't turn your headlamp on or Sidorovich will scold you. This is a good place to save. Now turn west and when you get to the point where Sidorovich radios in to tell you to use the window, use low-crouch to keep sound to a minimum. Watch for the headlamps of the guards to know when to move in. Find the spot where the rain gutter has fallen down and use it as a ramp to get up to the open window on the right. You may need to jump up to the window ledge and move right to get through the window. But you can do this while in the low-crouch position. Once through the window, go to the shelves in the southwest corner of the room and grab the white case. Then, out the way you came in, checking for headlamps as you go. Once you get to the bluff, you can sprint north along the bluff and fence line until you get directly east of the Rookie Village. Turn west and head for Sidorovich's bunker. When you get there, tell him you have the case to complete the task.

Locate the contact

Ask Sidorovich how many contacts he has to get this task. Freeing Nimble unlocks several optional tasks you can get from him. Nimble is being held by a group of poltergeists in the Cordon Underground. So, be sure to bring plenty of ammo. Use the door in the Trade Route Tunnel to get to him. See Navigating the Trade Route Tunnel for instructions on getting to the door. When you get to the door, open it and go to the ladder down on the left. Follow the passageway over the stack of crates and corpses. Ahead is a group of sleeping Zombies (civilian) that wake as you approach. You can save your ammo by sprinting and jumping over them. When you come to the closed door, open it and enter the room on the other side, then close the door to keep the Zombies out.

In order to free Nimble, you must kill all the poltergeists (approximately eight). But first, sprint to the door where you can talk to Nimble and duck into one of the rooms before you get a large red tank in the face. The best tactic I've found so far is to sprint behind one or more poltergeist to the far end of the hallway (shooting as you go, of course). When you get a safe distance from flying barrels, save, then turn and do the same. This seems to work the best, but I've yet to get them all on the first try. When you kill the last poltergeist, the door opens and Nimble is free. Talk to him and then return to Sidorovich to complete the task.

NOTE: If a Psy Storm occurs during this task, Nimble is able to escape and takes shelter in the trailer where you found the first contact's corpse. Follow him and after the storm, you can talk to Nimble, having the same conversation as you would after killing the last poltergeist. Nimble then returns to the Rookie Village and the task is updated to Report to the trader. You can return to the underground and finish off the poltergeists if you want. Usually, some of them have brains that you can sell.

Find the documents (Agroprom)

You may already have the first document, Sheet with notes from the Find Strelok's flash drive task, as the document is in the hideout with the Novel "Deep Darkness". There is no list of documents, so the only way to know if you have them all is when you get a task update to show the docs to the Trader.

For this walkthrough, I'm going in with guns blazing since it is extremely difficult to complete without gun play. Generally, the best I can do is to get five of the six documents without alerting the guards at the northwest gate of the complex, saving the Invoice at that gate for last. Once, those guards were focused on another intruder with their guns pointing the opposite way and I was able to come up from the underground for the Invoice. This is the only time I've completed the task without shooting everyone in the camp. See Find the documents (Agroprom) - Passive for how I did it.

From Ratcatcher's hideout (where you receive the Find the militaries' documents task), go south to the road and use the trees on the south side of the road as cover to get as close to the northwest gate. I like this approach as it provides the greatest amount of cover and is furthest from the towers. Plus, there's a document inside the gatehouse. As you proceed through the complex, you may notice the alarm siren stop, then start again. My theory on this is that when you haven't been heard or spotted for a given period of time, the alarm stops. Once one of the military grunts sees or hears you again, it comes back on.

Work your way to, and then inside the gate. Your first objective is the gatehouse, where there's the Invoice on the top shelf inside the cabinet along the west wall. Use the doorway of the gatehouse to shoot from, keeping in mind that the grunts can, and will, shoot through the cabinet on the north side of the doorway. When the way seems clear, sprint east up the road, keeping close to the wall on the left and watch for fire from the guard in the southwest tower. When you come to the first window (near the northwest corner of the building where it meets the broke block wall running north of it), jump up on the ledge and low-crouch through. There's an open doorway in front of you (east) and just south of it is an L-shaped control panel with a desk south of it. On the bottom shelf is the Professor's diary.

Go through the open doorway and to the second window from the right (or any open window - you may even be able to use the door if you've killed all the guards by now) and do the jump-low-crouch thing again to leave the building. The Notebook is in the building in front of you (east), on the far end of the bench just inside the doorway. Now go in the front door of the main building, across the hall, and through the large open door to find the Calculation journal on the desk in the southwest corner of the room. The Science project documentation is near the northeast corner of the same room, on the third-from-the-top shelf of the desk with the chair. The last document is on the third floor in the same room as the Find the militaries' documents case, and just east of it on the floor along the north wall. Pick up the Note to the director of Research Institute and take them to Sidorovich. Tell him you're there about the Agroprom documents and he'll offer you the Find the documents (Forest) task. Whether you accept or refuse, the current task is complete.

NOTE: You must give the documents to Sidorovich before the Go deeper into the mines task, in which Veles takes everything in your inventory.

Find the documents (Agroprom) - Passive

Use the Find the militaries'(sic) documents walkthrough to get started with the Calculation journal on the desk in the southwest corner of the room. The Science project documentation is near the northeast corner of the same room, on the third-from-the-top shelf of the desk with the chair. Again, refer to the Find the militaries'(sic) documents for the Note to the director of Research Institute on the third floor. Now back to the first floor and out the window you came in from and save.

NOTE: In my first play-through of version 1.4007, I had to leave the compound and come in through the underground. Then, go for the documents in reverse order. For some reason, the guards at the northwest gate had left their post. Also, loading a save inside the compound, or even in the underground near the manhole, alerts the guards at this point. As does checking your inventory. You may need to change it up a bit. For example, I once had to jump out the window of the north stairway and leave the Notebook for last.

Crouch to soften your footsteps and go to the southwest corner of the building. Now go northwest to the outside staircase on the south end of the next building, looping to the left as much as possible. Sometimes there's a guard in this next building that can see you if you just go straight across. Stay crouched as you move around the southwest corner and against the west wall until you get to the third window, which is open. Take one step back, jump forward to the window sill, and low-crouch in. Once inside, save.

Low-crouch to the opening in the curtain northeast of the open window as,again, there may be a guard just outside the doorway. If you get to the desk along the east wall without hearing the guard, alarm, or shooting, and pick up the Professor's diary. Now low-crouch to the door and check for a guard in the hallway. If there is no guard, go out an east window and low-crouch to the next building. If there is a guard, you have to go back out the window you came in through and around the south end of the building. Stay against the building as you pass the doorway on the east wall and continue until you're under the last window. Turn directly east and low-crouch to the next building.

Go up the steps and into the building to pick up the Notebook on the bench. Now low-crouch through the doorway further into the building, up on the bed near the last window on the east wall (no need to jump), and out the window. Move north up the road and go under the truck for a safe place to save. Continue to the north wall of the complex, turn west, and continue along the wall until you get near the gatehouse. At this point, I haven't figured out how to get into the gatehouse without alerting the guards as they can see you when you use the steps and the window is too high. Once, out of desperation, I threw a grenade over the gatehouse hoping to distract them long enough for me to get in. My throw was short and took them both out, but no siren. Odd that footsteps starts everyone shooting but grenades are ignored. Anyway, as you enter the gatehouse, the last document, Invoice, is on the top shelf of the cabinet directly across from the door. Exit through the open window and east along the wall to the underground hatch for your escape.

Find the documents (Forest)

This is the second in a series of optional "Documents" tasks and you must complete the preceding Find the documents (Agroprom) task in order to unlock this task.

The first document is actually in the Dark Valley Underground, but the document does not spawn until you accept the task. Also, don't pick this document up until after the Reach Darkscape task, or Veles takes it from you. There is a Pyrogeist and possibly two poltergeists patrolling the outside of the cave, and may enter the cave, but is easily avoided. Go to the area east of the Bandit base marked Old entrance and locate the cave opening north of the green trailer. Inside, go up the steps (goodies along the left wall), turn right to go down the steps and around to the right where the three dead bandits are. Go to the gap in the floor and drop down onto the pipe (don't use the ladder). Low-crouch and move southeast to drop down on the east side of the pipe. Go to the end of the passageway, turn left and locate the Research Journal in the northeast corner next to the lamp. To leave, go back to the ladder, low-crouch to jump up onto the pipe just south of the ladder, then use the ladder to get out of the hole. Now low-crouch along the west wall to get past the pipes.

NOTE: One of the dead bandits has a Bandit jacket in his backpack. If you take it, a bloodsucker spawns just around the corner on the right.

All but one of the remaining Forest documents are scattered among the buildings of the Bandit Mine. As you approach the complex you get a call for help. There's a wounded stalker along the road near the site, and if you stop to talk to him, he asks you to help his friend (whom I've yet to find). Drive into the complex and stop at the guard shack for a can of petrol. Then on into the complex, turning left (south) after the fuel truck and stop the car to go into the building through the open doorway. Turn left inside the doorway and go up the stairs, then make a U-turn left and go north through the doorway and the opening of the first fence partition. On the left control panel is the Complaint. Continue north to the room at the north end of the building to find two more cans of petrol. Now to the building west of the one you're in. Up the stairs and to the overturned desk to find the Letter. Through the doorway south of the desk, left doorway and make a U-turn left to find the Report between the crate and east wall in the northeast corner of the room. Again, going to the building west of your position, up the ladder to the desk to find the Contract on the shelf below the desk top (you probably need to crouch to see it).

The last document is actually in the mine, but it's not as easy as the previous documents. Before you go in, arm yourself for battle with a Controller. Go into the mine and sprint to where the shaft branches. Take the far-right opening into the storage area and grab the Financial papers on the east end of the shelves. Now exit the room and take the last shaft on the right, then left through the hole in the wall and down to the door on the right. Break open the boxes and grab the Compass artifact. Now sprint out the way you came in. If you're lucky, you won't need to fight the Controller. If you want to loot the mine, then you must defeat the Controller first. Sidorovich's instructions are to take the documents to Petrenko. Tell him, "I've wanted to talk about the docs." and he gives you 4500 RUz and a Battery artifact to complete the task. Continue the conversation and Petrenko gives you the Find the documents (Yantar) task.

Veles

Find the documents for Sin

This task comes at the completion of the Get file about experiments and can be completed simultaneously with the Access the lab and kill the bloodsuckers task. See Access the lab and kill the bloodsuckers for the X-14 walkthrough. Return the documents to Veles who promises to hook you up with some secret traders and gives you the Leave the mines task, which I think you can handle by now.

Voronin

Showdown at the old mine

This task is aquired by asking Voronin for a "serious job" when you meet him at the Outskirts Bar in Pripyat Outskirts. He sends you back to the Bandit Mine in the Forest to take out the bandits and collect any storage devices that might have intel on Duty. You can try going through Radar, but you're car is going to take some damage (if you do make it, that is). As much as I hate driving through the Swamp, that's the only practical way - Swamp > Yantar > The Great Metal Factory > Forest. I recommend a shot gun, sniper rifle, and grenades for this task. Also, be sure to complete the Meet Ivancov task before you leave, or you'll have to go right back to Yantar through the Swamps again.

Park your car just inside the gate and take out your sniper rifle. Step just outside the gate and check the roofline of the building to the west. There are two snipers on the roof of this building and you may be able to see one of them from this spot. If not, he may low-crouch so you can't get him from the ground. Either way, move quickly back inside the gate as there may be another two on the ground coming your way. Move along the west wall and lean out to view around the corner. If the way is clear, move to the tree, and then to the front of the truck, checking the roof for snipers. When you get both snipers, you get a task update, as well as when you get all the bandits, and another when you kill the leader.

Clear the first building inside and the room below ground at the north end. Then move outside along the west wall until the wall turns east and find the ladder up to the roof. If you haven't killed both snipers, finish the job now. Toss a grenade up to the roof and then climb the ladder to get to the snipers.

There should be two more bandits outside the mine and another two inside. When you're sure the complex and mine have been cleared of bandits, go into the tall building, up the stairs on the left, and, before opening the door, take out your shot gun. Then, open the door and let him have it. With the last bandit down, pick up the lap top on the desk, PDA on to of the chest of drawer on the east wall (next to the book shelves), and flash drive in the drawer of the cabinet next to the sofa with the tea pot on top. You may have to stand on the sofa to see it. This triggers a squad of Mercs waiting for you outside the building, one stands just outside the doorway of the building and, if you low-crouch, you should be able to get a headshot in from the doorway of the room you're in. Sprint or jump to the bottom of the stairs and stay behind the brick. The Mercs open up and their bullets go right through the wooden doors of the building. Stay in the southeast corner near the bottom of the stairs and pick the Mercs off as they come through the door, five of them in all. Report back to Voronin to complete the task.

NOTE: Voronin's icon appears at his first location near the bar in The Great Metal Factory. But his office is empty.